National Republican., 1887-03-28

Drs MoISEs, Iowa, Mar. 27.-The Rev.
T. De Witt Talmage, ID. D., preached In
this city this morning to vast congrega-
ton. His text was Genesis VII. /: "Come
thou and all thy house into the ark" The
eloquent preacher said:
We do not need the Bible to prove the
deluge. The geologist's hammer announces
IL. Sea shells and marine formations on
the top of soTe of the highest mountains
of the earth prove that ut some time the
waters washed over the top OF the Alps
and the Andes. In what way the catas
trophe came, we know not; whether by the
the stroke of a comet, or by flashes Of
lightning, changing the air into water, or
by stroke Of the hand Of God, like the
stroke OF the ak between the horns Of the
OK, the earth staggered. To meet the
catastrophe God ordered great ship built.
II was TO be without PROV, for 1t was to
sail to no shore. 1t was to be without
helm, for no human hand should guide It.
1t was vast structure, probably as large
as two or three Cunard steamers. 1t was
the Great Eastern Of olden time.
The ship is done. The door is open. The
lizards crawl In. The cattle walk In. The
grasshoppers hop In. The birds fly in. The
Invitation goes forth to Noah "Come thou
and all thy house into the ark" just one
human family embark on the strange voy-
age, and / hear the door slam shut. A
great storm sweeps along the hills, and
bends the cedars until all the branches snap
in the gale. There is moan in the wind
like unto the moan Of dying world. The
blackness Of the heavens is shattered by the
fare of the lightnlngs, that look down into
the waters, and throw ghastlness on the
face of the mountains. How strange 1t
looks How suffocating the air seems
The big. drops OF rain .plash upon the up
turned faces Of those who are watching the
tempest. Crash 60 the rocks In convul-
sion. Boom 20 the bursting heavens.
The inhabitants OF the earth, instead OF
fleeing to house.top and mountain-top, as
men have fancied, sit down In dumb, white
horror to die. For when God grinds noun
tains to pieces, and lets the ocean slip It's
cable, there is no place for men to fly to.
while from its windows the passengers look
out upon the shipwreck Of a race, and the
carcasses Of a dead world. Woe to the
mountains Woe to the sea
am no alarmist. When, on the Goth of
September, after the wind has for three
days been blowing from the northeast, you
prophesy that the equinoctial storm is com
Ing, you simply state fact not to be dis
puted. Neither am / an alarmist when
say that storm is coming, compared with
which Noah's deluge was but an April
shower; and that 1t Is the wisest and safest
for you and for me to get safely housed for
eternity. The invitation that went forth
to Noah sounds In our ears: "Come thou
and all thy house into the ark"
Well, how did Noah and his family come
into the ark e? Did they climb In at the
window, or come down the roof? No; they
went through the door. And just SO, II we
get into the ark of Gods mercy, 1t will be
through Christ, the door. The entrance to
the ak Of old must have been very large
Nhak f.At, fl,a
fact that there were monster animals In the
earlier ages; and, In order to get them into
the ark two and two, according to the
Bible statement, the door must have been
ve,y wide and very high. So the door into
the mercy Of God is a large door. We go
ir, not two by two, but by hundreds, and
by thousands. and by millions. Yea, all
the nations OF the earth may 60 In, ten mil
lions abreast.
The door Of the ancient ark was In the
side. So now 1t Is through the side of
Christ-the pierced side, the wide'open
side, the heart side-that we enter. Aha
the Roman soldier, tbrusting his spear into
the saviour's side, expected only to let the
blood out, but he opened the way to let all
the world In. Owhat broad Gospel 10
preach II man is about to give an en-
iertainment, ne Issues one or two hundred
invitations, carefully put up and directed
to the particular persons whom he wishes
to entertain. But God, our Father, makes
banquet, and goes out to the front door
of heaven aud stretches out his hands over
land and sea, and, with voice that pene-
trates the Hindoo jungle, and the Green
land ice castle, and Brazilian grove, and
English factory, and American home, cries
out, "Come, for all things are now ready"
1t is q wide door. The old cross has been
taken apart, and its two pieces are stood
up for the door posts, so far apart that
al u
scatter treasures on days OF great rejoicing.
So Christ, our King, comes and scatters the
jewels Of heaven. Rowland Hill said that
he hoped 10 get into heaven through the
creyices of the door,. But he was not
obliged to thus 60 in. After having
preached the Gospel ir Surrey Chapel,
keeper cried: "Lift up your heads, ye ever
lasting gates, and let this man come in
The dying thief went in. Richard Bax
ter and Robert Newton went iu. Europe,
Asia, Africa, and North and South America
may yet 80 through this wide door without
crowding. Ho, every one-all conditions, all
ranks, all people, Luther said that this truth
was worth carrying on ones knees from
Rome to Jerusalem; but think IT worth
carrying all around the globe, and all
around the heavens, that "God 30 loved
the world that He gave His only.begotteI
Son, that whosoever believeth In Hin
should not perish, but have everlasting
life. "Whosoever will let him come through
crum on which to place his lever, and theI
he said that he could move the world. Cal
vary is the fulcrum, and the cross OF Chris
is the lever; and by that power all nations
khall yet be lifted.
Further: 1t is door that swings bott
ways. do not know whether the door Of
the ancient ark was lifted, or rolled OF
hinges; but this door OF Christ opens bott
ways. 1t swings out toward all our woes
1t swings In toward the raptures OF heaven
1t swings in to let us In; 1t swings out to lie
our ministering ones come out. All arr
one In Christ-Christians on earth ant
saints in heaven.
One army ofthe living God,
AT His command we bow
Part OF the host have crossed the Hood,
And part are crossing now.
Swing In, o blessed door until all tn
earth shall go In and live. Swing out until
all the heavens come forth to celebrate tn,
victory.
But, further, It Ia door with fastenings
The Bible says OF Noah: "The Lord shu
HIN in" A vessel without bulwarks o
doors would not be safe vessel to go in
When Noah and his family heard the fast
enipg OF the door Of the ark, they were YER
glad. Without those doors were fastened
the first heavy surge OF the sea would hay
whelmed them; and they might as well hav
persisted outside the ark as Inside the ark
'.The Lord shut him in." o, the perfec
safety Of the ark! The surf of the sea an,
the lightniDgs of the sky may be twisted
into garland Of snow and fire--deep Il
deep, storm TO storm, darkness to darkness
hut once In the ark, all is well. "God shu
him inn
There comes upon the good man delug,
OF financial trouble. He had his thousand
10 lend; now he cannot borrow dollar
He once owned O store In New York, an
had branch houses III Boston, Philadelphia
and New Orleans. He owned four horses
and employed man to keep the dust OF
his coach, EhaetOn, carriage, and eurricle